Re:pray
by Chibi Yachiru-chan
Summary: ...I pray for the strength to forgive myself who can only live for my own sake. I pray for the days through which I can live without regretting our lost love. My prayer, cleaving the clouds, sends my hope into the sky.


**1. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.**

**2. Re:pray by Aimer (29th ending theme of Bleach)**

**3. IchiRuki (after ****_such_**** a long time!)**

**4. I couldn't stop crying at this song**

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She lingers back in the chaos… just a little while longer. And watches him. A mix of relief and angst. Because he would never know.

Just like those peculiar, bright spikes, he stands out… even in the crowd. The crowd she hides from. Because they will know… but _shouldn't_. And she watches him. A mix of relief and pain. Because she cannot reach him. Smile… and _laugh_ with him… like they do. Like _they_ did.

_Accompanied by the sound of the rain and your steps on the stairs of the skywalk,  
I wave my hand to the sight of your back, which I won't be able to see again.  
Time begins moving again as soon as the traffic light turns green.  
The waves and crowds of umbrellas have engulfed my days._

He's grown over the days. Become a man. Yet there's the boy she met… a long time back, in the rain. Poised to protect. Yes… he's fought to protect. Always.

And he's walking away. His back to her. As rain starts to cascade. He looks up and frowns. The same drops touching him as they touch her. And she watches with helpless admiration. A mix of relief and misery. Because it's not the same anymore… this rain.

_Say a little prayer for you and me.  
I shall see off my love, for which I can no longer pledge eternity._

Time slips by. She should be returning. The work's over. But her eyes linger onto him, each minute detail etched into her head. The gentle angles of his jaws, the sharp slant of his nose… and those warm brown eyes with the tinge of the sun.

But she cannot continue to stand and watch. The memories will cling to her being. Till eternity they will. And she watches him. A mix of relief and resignation. Because she cannot continue to linger forever… for eternity.

_I pray for the strength to forgive myself who can only live for my own sake.  
I pray for the days through which I can live without regretting our lost love.  
My prayer, cleaving the clouds, sends my hope into the sky._

He has got on with life. Turned more of his attention to the ones around him. The ones he cares about. And even with the façade, she knows the despair his powerlessness has brought him. The fear that he can't protect anyone anymore.

But he has got on with life. Just as she has. So they continue to live. In a little dark corner, the hidden hope for some brighter future. And she watches him. A mix of relief and regret. Because he would never know… the hope released into nothingness… fluttering as the silhouette slowly fades out.

_Wanting tomorrow to be like last year, I burned my willfulness with my album.  
I wanted to protect myself, in order to protect everything for you._

And he's willing himself to move, squinting in the rain, pushing himself. In some forgotten little place in her heart, the album holds those bits and pieces. Clings furiously to them. Bits and pieces… of memories… the year that upturned her world. The peculiar bright orange in the midst of all the haze and grey. It's edges sharp… not blurring, not fading.

Standing silently in the background, holding onto it all. Holding herself back. She watches him. A mix of relief and restrain. Because he is to be protected. For just a little while longer, she will protect herself… so she can protect him.

_No more crying, and dry your eyes.  
We won't turn around, for our love doesn't have a voice to keep us back._

She's choking. All air has left her lungs as she struggles to swallow the lump in her throat. Blinks furiously at the moisture clouding her sight.

Because she can't give in. She can't let the tears flood over. So she won't. For there's no going back. And nothing to hold it all in place. As she watches him. A mix of relief and longing. Because there is too much to hold back. And so little to let out. She forces herself away.

_Don't cry. This is not the end,  
But merely that everything is disappearing into the flowing time.  
What I have retained in my heart is the warmth that once enveloped me.  
Farewell, you who loved me.  
Farewell, I who was loved._

He looks up, squinting hard at the far, far sky. As the rain soaks him through and through. A tightened throat, as she stares at the heedless drops running down his face.

A flash of everything pushed down, shoved under the burdens of passing time. Reminiscence of the warmth that lit even the dingiest, dampest days of endless rain. And she's reaching out for him. A mix of hopelessness and despair. No relief. Because she can't reach him. Can't wipe away the raindrops that fall from the sky that he is. And the sun in his eyes, obscured by the clouds… of endless days of rain.

_I loved you, I yearned for you, but this is not the place I wished for.  
Your voice still lingers, but I want to send my prayer to tomorrow._

So she accepts it. Admits to herself. And does the last thing she wants to… the only thing she has power to.

She walks away. With the cold, cold rain pouring incessantly. Wishing for a day… when the sun can shine again. With all its charm, with all its warmth.

A little prayer floated up. As she returns to the place neither wished for. The reverberating voice that had faded grows louder, filling up the emptiness. And she doesn't turn around. Doesn't look back. Because it's not their place to wish. But there is a better tomorrow. The hope threatens the clouds.

_Dareka no tame ni ikite yukenai jibun o yuruseru tsuyosa o  
Anata ni yorisoenakatta koto kuyamazu ni irareru hibi o  
Inori wa kumo o hikisaki kono sora ni kibou tokihanatsu_

_[I pray for the strength to forgive myself who can only live for my own sake.  
I pray for the days through which I can live without regretting our lost love.  
My prayer, cleaving the clouds, sends my hope into the sky.]_

And he stares into the emptiness. A mix of hope and despair. Because he would never know… _she_ would never know.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to use the English translation and not put the Japanese roman lyrics in between because it was breaking the flow. After this song, I have sworn to never ship Ichigo or Rukia with any other character except each other. I just can't.**

**So, readers… review?**

**Thank you for reading!**


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